Crossing that Fine Line
by happyendings55
Summary: Carina Astraea Malfoy, Cam for short, was many things.  One: She was Draco Malfoy's youngest child.  Two: She was Scorpius Malfoy's younger sister.  Three: She was Albus Potter's verbal punching bag.  Four: She was also his son's mother.
1. How It All Happened

Chapter One: How It All Happened

Part One: August 10, 2028

My mother had me walk the Manor for the eighteenth time this morning. I was to check and make sure that every decoration was in place for my older brother's wedding. The wedding I was so rudely summoned from France to attend. The gardens were blooming with red and white roses for the occasion. The garland was hung perfectly among the trees, while the white peacocks roamed as per usual. Their tail feathers had been charmed to have red in them instead of blue. It was perfect. My grandfather was probably cursing us somewhere because his precious Manor had been decorated in Gryffindor colors and his grandson was marrying a half-blood Weasley.

I looked around one more time for my mother's sake. It was beautiful. Scorpius and Rose would have a beautiful wedding. The sun was shining down on the Ministry alter where they would meet each other and say their vows. It was the perfect day for a wedding.

I walked back up to the room in which the bridal party was getting ready. I needed to put on my maid of honour dress. It was crimson with a soft white sash around the waist that tied into a beautiful bow at the back. It was when it was on that I realized how big of a mistake coming home was.

Rose stepped forward, "Cam, are you alright? You're hyperventilating more than me, and I'm the one getting married."

I wasn't hyperventilating more than she was, I think. Okay, maybe I was, but that was because her cousin, also known as the bane of my existence, was going to see my son today. Normally, this would not be a problem to anyone else, but see my son is his son. He could possibly figure out the six-month-old baby sitting in my mother's lap in the first pew was his. _Breathe Cam, breathe,_ I kept thinking to myself.

"What is the matter?" She asked again in a heightened tone. I shook my head. I didn't want to alert her to my personal dilemma, especially since she would most certainly tell Albus Potter that I was missing for a year because I was having his son. Plus, this day was supposed to be about her and my brother. I breathed in and out a couple more times before returning to a normal calm. I smiled up at Rose, "It's just weird that my older brother is going to be a husband today."

Rose looked at me like she didn't believe any of that bollocks, but since this was her wedding she was going to ignore it and pester later. I could see the little cogs turning in her giant brain. I wouldn't doubt that she would be spending the better part of the ceremony trying to figure out what was the truth.

"Cam, darling, we need to finish your hair," Mrs. Granger-Weasley said to me. She brought me over to a chair to do something with it. My hair was stick-straight. It usually didn't do much except fall over my shoulders. I pitied her for trying to tackle it.

"I'm sorry, it probably won't do much," I apologized. She tsked at me, "Cam, I'm sure my hair looks wonderful to you now, but once upon a time I had my fair share of problems with it. I will be able to do something with yours."

In twenty minutes, she held true to her word. My hair was up in a beautiful messy bun with curly, voluminous tendrils falling out of it. How she did it, I will never know. Once she was done, she was ushering us into the downstairs corridor to assemble for the walk down the aisle. I tried to avoid Albus until it was absolutely necessary.

"So you decided that your brother's wedding was a worthy event for you to return home?" He said once I stood next to him. I wished I had my wand. I would have given him a good jelly-legs jinx just for being an arse.

"What do you care, _Albus_?" I asked, emphasizing his full name to drive him nutters. He hated being called by his full name.

"I don't. I just have spent the last year with your family and they were upset by your sudden decision to move to France," he whispered fiercely back.

"Albus Severus and Carina Astraea, you two better stop having this row before you get out there," Ron Weasley scolded from behind us. He stood with Rose in a beautiful set of dress robes. Rose looked at him proudly. We all thought that eventually Rose and Scorpius would have a falling out because he didn't take too kindly to my brother, but in the end he chose to be a better wizard. Rose was grateful.

The music started, and all activity in the corridor stopped. The doors to the gardens of the Manor opened. Dora, Teddy and Victoire Lupin's daughter, along with Artemis, Rose's Uncle Charlie's seven-year-old son, were the first to walk down the aisle. Everyone awed at their cuteness. Then the rest of the party, Hugo and Lily, Louis and Iris Zabini, James and Dominique, and us, walked to the march down the aisle. We got to the front, and I could see my little guy on my mother's lap. I smiled at him. Albus followed my line-of-sight. Hopefully he wouldn't notice that Micah only had one of my family's trademark looks. He was void of either the male Malfoys' pale blonde hair and skin or mine and my mother's caramel brown hair and fair skin. He had a tuft of unruly ebony hair, Albus's facial structure, and finally, my grey eyes. The only tell-tale sign that he was part Malfoy after all.

Everyone stood as Rose and Mr. Weasley started their walk. I looked over at my brother and saw that he was beaming at her. I wished I could have something like that. I always thought my first child would have been born out of a deep love. Instead, my poor Micah was born because of that stupid party.

* * *

_Part Two: May 2, 2027_

"Cam Malfoy, what're you doing at a big kid party?" I heard a snide voice ask. I knew immediately who it was without turning around. Why my brother had become best mates with Albus Potter was still a mystery to me. He was a pompous git who constantly picked on me for no other reason than I was Scorpius's younger sister.

My brother who was sloshed joined us in the corner of the Manor's biggest ballroom.

"Al, leave my sister alone," he slurred. I thought about telling him his defense was a little weak when he was mullered, but he wouldn't understand in his state anyway.

Rose Weasley, Scorpius's girlfriend, looked a little frustrated. I shot her an apologetic look. She caught it and nodded her head. I turned Scorpius around and pushed him toward her.

"Go spend time with Rose. _Albus_, doesn't need you here. He's enjoying his Firewhiskey just fine on his own," I said with venom.

"Sure mate, leave me for my cow of a cousin," he countered in anger. Rose glared at him. She didn't do anything though because she knew that he was not himself.

Rose and Scorpius walked away after that comment. It was probably because she knew if she stuck around longer she would end up killing her favourite cousin. I would have hexed him for the last comment. Rose was much nicer than I would ever be.

"Blimey," Albus muttered under his breath and I glowered at him. He was such a prat.

"As much as I love talking to you _Albus_, I'm going to go find something more entertaining to do," I said as I looked over at Cyrus Nott who was waving. He held up a glass with something blue in it. I smiled. Cyrus had the strong stuff and he wanted to share.

I ambled over to him and the delicious Blue Fairy he was holding out for me. I downed it in one gulp.

"Careful Malfoy, that stuff will get you knockered with one drink," Cyrus warned, but I shook my head. I grabbed another and lifted it to my lips. I smirked at Cyrus. "I never think you look like your father until you do that," he responded. I laughed. He wasn't the only person to tell me this.

I woke and instantly knew something terrible happened. My feelings were confirmed when I rolled over and saw untidy black hair on the pillow. I slept with a Potter. My head was pounding, but I was certain it was a Potter. I wanted it to be James. James and Albus looked a lot alike except for their eyes, especially to someone who was suffering from a hangover.

The body next to me stirred because we lost our heat. He reached out his arm toward the night table and grabbed glasses. _Oh shite,_ I thought to myself. Glasses meant Albus. He slid them on his face in the same manner I've seen his father do it at public speaking events about the Great War.

"Malfoy?" He asked confused.

"Yes. It's me."

"Bloody hell!" He exclaimed as he took in the sight before him. Both of us were in ripped knickers. "Did we…?"

"I think so," I answered normally before launching into a hate-filled rage, "You did this you know? It's always the bloke's fault when people drink!"

"Bollocks! You probably lured me up here! This is your room! Plus, I saw you doing those shots of Blue Fairy with Nott. You were probably so sloshed you thought I was him, and I was sloshed so I wasn't going to deny you!" He yelled back. His face was turning a slight red. It was something I noticed all of the Weasley-Potter kids did.

"See you just admitted to it," I said before throwing my hand mirror at him, "Get out Albus Potter! You're a giant slimy git and I hate you!" He was hurriedly putting on the clothes he had scattered about the room. He looked back at me when he got to the door.

"Good because I hate you too! You always were a selfish little bint," he said before leaving my room and slamming the door.

I fell onto my bed and sobbed. I slept with the one person I hated with all my life.


	2. Someone Knows

Chapter Two: Someone Knows

Part One: August 10, 2028

As soon as the reception had started in the back gardens, I had rushed over to my mother for Micah. He looked charming in his tiny little black dress robes. He gurgled and moved around in them. Since we never went anywhere in France, he was not used to more than a simple nappy and one piece pyjama outfit. He fussed having to be in all these clothes.

I tried to hide away in the corner because no one had made the connection that he was mine. I wanted to try and leave it that way. Unfortunately, Iris Zabini had wandered over to me. She looked at Micah.

"Well this little bloke is adorable. Who does he belong to?" She asked. I could lie, but this was my best mate. She was devastated when I told her I was moving to France and never coming back.

"This is Micah and he's the reason I moved to France," I answered honestly. She stared back at me with wide chocolate eyes. It only took moments before her temper, something that she gained from her mother, got out of control.

"You moved to France because you had a baby? Who is the father? What's going on Cam?" She launched into a million high-pitched questions. I tried to get her to hush her voice before my brother's guests overheard.

"Hush, I'll tell you what I can later. Just trust me that I had to move to France, and I have to go back there once I see Scorpius and Rose off on their honeymoon," I whispered. She shot me an angry look.

She shook her head, but she let it be, "You will tell me later. Consider me a guest in your room tonight." Iris's voice was heavy with sadness. It made me feel awful. I really was the worst kind of best mate. I could have invited her over while I was in France. I was so daft sometimes, especially that time that I slept with Albus.

I walked away from the corner to face the rest of the room. Iris disappointed in me elicited the need to be recognized with my son. It didn't matter to me that someone may spot the similarities between him and a certain other member of the wedding party. Okay, it did matter to me, but I was going to have to take that risk because I would not spend my brother's wedding reception hidden. When I got to the main area, I noticed that my father was dancing with Rose while Hermione Granger-Weasley danced with my brother. The opposite parent dance was a tradition at Malfoy weddings. It meant that I had missed my mother dancing with Scorpius because that dance came first.

I had to look over at Ron Weasley. I noticed that his ears were very red. I had to laugh. My father had told me that Weasel would turn that awful shade of purplish red just because he was dancing with his daughter. I had to laugh just a little bit.

"What's so funny?" I heard a voice ask. I looked to my left to see James looking out at the dance floor.

"Just that your uncle looks like he's going to hex my father into Azkaban," I explained. He looked over to the man in question.

He chuckled, "Uncle Ron does have a temper. We all get that red thing from him you know? Whenever any of us kids are mad, we do that too."

"I know," I responded involuntarily.

"Really?"

"Well I did go to school with the lot of you and one of you always seemed to be mad at one point or another," I told him. He looked at me thoughtfully.

"You're right."

Micah squirmed in my arms to reach out to…his uncle. That was weird for me to think about so I chose to ignore it.

James looked down at him, "Well who is this?"

"This is Micah," I replied, hoping that he wouldn't notice the strong family resemblance.

"Is he yours?"

"Yes."

"Is that why you left for France?"

"Yes."

"Why?" He asked with a contemplative look. It was like he was trying to solve some puzzle. I rather wished he wouldn't.

"Because his conception was an unfortunate mistake and I would rather the father not be burdened," I countered.

James thought about that and stared at Micah with a puzzled expression before saying, "He's adorable. I don't think the father would be burdened, _even if he seems to not like you much._"

I gasped, "James, don't tell him." It was desperate and pleading, but I had to try.

"Not my secret to tell, but you know how he is. If you tell him sooner rather than later, then the row you two are bound to have will be a little less volatile. Plus, I wouldn't want to ruin any chances I have," he stated with a wink before walking to where the rest of the guests were.

I was lucky that the rest of the reception had been filled with everyone wanting to hold Micah and no sign of Albus. Merlin knew where he escaped to, but I was grateful for it. Now I was lying on my bed with my best mate.

"Spill," she commanded.

I didn't know what to say to her, "There's not much to tell." She looked at me with big chocolate eyes that looked just like her father's. They told me she didn't believe me even a little bit.

"Carina Astraea Malfoy, I know you better than you know yourself sometimes. I know that you're lying to me. You have a baby for Merlin's sake. So you will bloody tell me why said baby sent you off to France of all places! You know how much we hated those Beauxbatons' kids when we went to the Triwizard Tournament at their school. Why?"

When she used my full name in the manner that my parents or brother did, and said it all like that, I knew that I had to tell her the secret that I wanted to hold in for the rest of my life.

"I slept with Albus at Scorpius's birthday party," I started, "Not on purpose. We were tankered and well I don't know what actually happened because I don't remember any of it, but the waking up part. Three months later I find out I'm pregnant and I'm making my parents and Scorpius swear that they wouldn't tell him."

"Albus? As in Albus Potter? As in boy you've hated since you were eleven years old?" She asked skeptically, but then she looked over at the bassinet that held my son. He had untamed ebony hair shooting out from everywhere.

"Yes, but I told you. I didn't bloody well do it on purpose. We were drunk," I said to her. I didn't want her to get these mental ideas she used to have when we were fifteen. She used to say that there was a fine line between hate and love and sometimes Albus and I crossed it. I told her that was a load of rubbish as I would never reduce myself to loving Albus Potter. Plus, my father would have a stroke if his only other child married into the Potter-Weasley clan as well. He was still barely dealing with Scorpius's foray into that world.

"Yes well they say that you always do what you feel you can't when you're sloshed. Kind of a way of getting over your inhibitions," she answered with a sly grin. I shook my head vigorously. I would not willingly pursue that wizard.

"I do not love him no matter how much you're going to use that bloody tired line about love and hate," I responded.

* * *

_Part Two: September 1, 2019_

I stared at the scarlet steam engine in front of me. This was the Hogwarts Express. My parents had taken this train to school when they were my age. My brother had taken this train for the first time to school two years ago. Now it was my turn.

My father took my hand and walked with me over to my godfather.

"Hello Blaise," he greeted the darker man. I looked up at my godfather with a big smile. If he was here that meant my best mate was too. I looked around for Iris. She was still standing with her mother.

"Good morning Draco. Fine day for the kids to be starting Hogwarts," Blaise said as he patted my head, "Are you excited Cam?"

I nodded my head, "Of course Uncle Blaise! Scorpius told me about the Sorting Hat, the Great Hall, all of it."

"Well just don't be following in that brother of yours footsteps. I don't want to hear about you befriending some Potter kid," he responded.

"Blaise, don't start with her. Potter saved my arse, if she wants to befriend one of his lousy kids let her," Dad said to him. I shook my head. I didn't know the whole story of their childhood other than the stuff that was in the history books, but I knew they should probably be over it by now.

"Dad! Let her go! We're going to miss the train!" Scorpius screamed from a couple of meters away where he stood with his best mate, Albus Potter. He had spent the last two years talking about all the trouble they would get into with professors. My dad would shake his head and mutter something about the bloody absurdity of a Potter in Slytherin.

"Come on Cam before your brother throws a fit worse than your father's from our Hogwart's days," Blaise said as he took my hand to walk over to Iris and Mrs. Zabini. Iris noticed me and gave me a hug that took all the air out of my lungs. I heard my dad call him a sod and follow behind us.

I climbed onto the train and tried to find a compartment with Iris. The only one that wasn't full to the brim with students was the one that had Scorpius in it.

"All the other compartments are taken," I said as I entered the compartment with Iris.

Scorpius just let me sit on the seat across from him and his friend, and went onto talking.

"Really mate? You're going to let her sit with us? I went through all this trouble to make sure Lily was somewhere else and we're going to get stuck with your little sister?" Albus asked. I glared at him. Scorpius and I had never had a problem being around one another.

"I won't even bloody bother you," I defended myself.

"I'm sure you won't, princess," he taunted back.

It was the beginning to our hateful relationship.


	3. Kicked While You're Down

**_Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taking so long to write chapters to these stories. Since I took the new job and have no time to write, I also got a lot of stress added to my life. It blocks my writing. I used to have someone counter these writer's blocks with beautiful artwork of my characters and situations, but since I'm no longer living near her, the inspiration is gone. I'm going to continue to write, but without the inspiration I once had, it's going to take a lot longer and I just wanted to let you know and apologize now._**

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* * *

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Chapter Three: Kicked While You're Down

Part One: August 13, 2028

Today, Scorpius and Rose should have left for their honeymoon. I was supposed to go back to France and continue my life with Micah. At least that was what I expected to happen. Instead, we woke up to one of the worst experiences of my life.

Dad knocked on the door, and I dodged all my belongings to go open it. When I opened the door, I could immediately tell something was wrong. He looked pale; his eyes were rimmed with tears.

"Dad?" I asked. I didn't want to hear what he was going to say. I knew it was going to be horrible.

He started to speak, but stopped. His eyes watered even more, "It's your mother. She's been sick for awhile, and well it got worse last night."

I looked at him, confused. I hadn't known Mum was sick.

"She's sick?" I asked.

"Yes, she's had goblin fever for a few months now, and they said that she would be fine. They were wrong. It has gotten worse. I had to call the Healers and take her to Mungo's last night," he answered. My mouth dropped and I leaned forward to give him a hug.

"Does Scorpius know?" I asked. He nodded. It didn't surprise me that he knew. He did live with our parents.

"I'm cancelling the honeymoon for now. Rose agrees it's best to stay here. If Mum…well I just would like to be around," Scorpius said as he joined the conversation from the corridor outside my door. I nodded. I couldn't go back to France. I needed to be here. I couldn't bear the thought of being in France if…well like Scorpius said, if something happened. I wasn't even able to think it. I had a thousand memories of my mum and me.

"Dad, I'm going to stay too," I told him as I put a hand on his shoulder. Micah was stirring in the bassinet by my bed. I picked him up and held him to my chest. It was calming to feel him breathing even though my head was racing with thoughts of losing my own mother.

He nodded and walked away toward the main part of the Manor. Scorpius looked at me.

"Al's going to be here a lot. He likes Mum and he's my best mate. What about Micah?" He asked. I could tell he wanted me to tell him that I would run and tell Albus he was Micah's father. However, I wouldn't do that. I would just have to hope that everyone else could continue to be oblivious. Scorpius shook his head.

"Cam, he's my best mate," he stated.

"And I'm your sister," I said trumping his previous statement. He gave me a disapproving look. Scorpius hated confrontation so the argument would go no further. He was more like Mum than Dad. I sighed. Mum was lying in Mungo's and here we were arguing over something trivial.

I looked at him, "Albus hates me. Do you think I would be doing him a favor if I told him we had a baby together?"

"No, but as half of Micah's DNA, he has a right to know," Scorpius finished as he walked away from me. Somewhere, I knew he was right, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was afraid of what Albus would do. I knew he wouldn't take Micah or anything that awful because Merlin, his parents were the Potters and he was raised better than that. It was just that he would hate me even more if he knew. I have dealt with his unrelenting hate for ten years. It was tiring. He would blame me for having to take care of a child he didn't want. Mr. Potter would force him to help me and he would be spiteful.

I could leave again. Albus wouldn't have to do anything if I weren't here after I told him. But, that would mean I couldn't come home. I needed to come home. I didn't want Micah to not know any of his family.

"I have to tell him. I will tell him. Just not now," I whispered as I looked at Micah.

* * *

I hesitated in front of the door. I had no desire to see my mother fragile and sick on a hospital bed.

There were shuffling feet in the corridor. I looked over and saw my father, Scorpius, Rose, and I sighed at this one, Albus. Could I not escape him? I was here to see Mum, and I was going to have to deal with him too.

"Cam, you're already here," Dad said to me as he approached. He held his hands out for Micah. Albus stared for a moment. I didn't know why.

Scorpius came close and whispered, "He didn't see you with Micah. He didn't know until now."

Well that was bloody wonderful. He was going to be an utter prat now, especially if we were alone. Albus had a bad habit of running his mouth when we weren't in anyone else's company.

"Cam," someone greeted me and I turned around to see James headed from the other direction of the corridor. I smiled at him. He was always my favorite of the Potter brothers. He had never made fun of me and I was three, not two, years younger than him.

"Hello James," I greeted in return and he gave me a hug. Albus rolled his eyes, but I was grateful that James was there to stop any cutting remarks. I knew Albus would get them in eventually, but James was stopping them for now. James shook Dad and Scorpius' hands. He offered words of comfort. I thought it was interesting to see him act like this with my family. I mean he wasn't Scorpius' best mate, so what did he care?

As if reading my thoughts, Albus moved closer and told me, "Scorp has been to our house a lot since your mum got sick. James has taken to calling him 'his other little brother.' Scorp needed it. I'm his best mate, but I can't give him something a big brother can."

I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding. I completely expected a scathing remark to be in that explanation somewhere.

"I mean your dad's a wreck so Scorp has to support him, but your brother needed someone in a father kind of way to help him. However, you would have known all this if you weren't flouncing about France having babies," he said and I should have expected it.

"Flouncing about France? I was not flouncing about, I was pregnant you slimy git! The only flouncing I did was done before I went to France and fortunately, I was tankered for it!"

Albus looked taken aback, and I sucked in air in an attempt to calm myself. I practically just told him he was Micah's father. Please, I wanted him to be thick and not able to figure out that slip.

"You like to bonk drunk all the time?" He asked and I shook my head. I didn't actually expect him to be that thick. My son shared his genes. I just hope he got my brains.

I could see James leaning on the wall behind Albus and knew he had heard the whole conversation. He shook his head at me like I was the prat not understanding. He walked forward and saved me from his demented younger brother. Albus looked at James, shrugged his shoulders, and wandered back over to Scorpius and Dad.

"Nice manipulative girl way of trying to tell him," James stated, "He's not going to get it unless you spell it out for him. You had drunken sex with him, yes, but he's not going to assume it's with him only."

"Why should he assume that I've had sex with anyone else like that?"

"Because you hate him and you shagged him. You're capable of getting a little sloshed and doing it with someone else if you can do it with him."

"I wasn't even trying to tell him James. I was just trying to explain that I was not being some tart in France while my mum was sick here. He thought I was," I retorted.

"Oh," James said with an unreadable look on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing, you should go in and see your mother now." He said with a lazy grin. I wondered what he was thinking, but left it alone and did as he said.

* * *

_Part Two: December 24, 2022_

"Cam, let's go!" Iris shouted from the doorway of our dormitory. We were about four minutes late for the Yule Ball and Iris hated being late.

"One minute," I told her as I finished tying the back of my dress robes. We had dates and Iris couldn't be contained.

After slipping on my shoes, I met Iris and our dates in the Common Room. They weren't the only people in there. My brother and Albus were there with their own dates as well.

"Hey Scorp, I didn't know Cam could look like a bird," Albus remarked and I wanted to hex him. I wanted to know why he just couldn't go one night without being a prat. The last four years had been him tormenting me for no reason that I could see. I inched forward and Iris grabbed my arm.

"He's just being an arse," she whispered. She knew that I would get myself into trouble and miss our Yule Ball if I retaliated.

I glared at Albus before replying, "He's always an arse. Let's go Deacon." Scorpius grimaced as Deacon held his hand out for me. Scorpius and Deacon didn't like each other. They were in the same year and had some sort of rivalry. I didn't care about their conflict though. Deacon Flint was my date for the Yule Ball, and Scorpius would just have to deal with that.

* * *

When we made it to the Great Hall, I took in the sight of it decorated in beautiful trees covered in snow. It was almost as beautiful as the Manor was at Christmas. There was an ice-block stage that glittered in the light.

"It's absolutely gorgeous," I whispered, and Deacon agreed. Except when I glanced at him, he was staring at me. I smiled at that. Deacon was wonderful to look at as well. He had on very modern dress robes that were accented in silver.

The champions, James Potter included, opened the first dance as was tradition. James twirled his date as he went past Deacon and me. He winked at me and I smiled back. He may have been a Gryffindor, three years older than me, and related to the one wizard I couldn't stand, but he still was nice to me.

"Should I be worried about leaving with my date?" Deacon asked. I laughed a bit.

"Of course not, James is my friend," I responded.

"Strange person to be friends with considering you and his brother are always at odds," he answered.

"Well James is a good bloke and Albus is a prat."

"You're absolutely right. Although, I would add your brother to the list of wankers at this school," Deacon said, and I frowned. Scorpius wasn't a wanker. Sure, we didn't get along all the time because he was my brother, but he wasn't an arse the way Albus was. However, I didn't say anything back.

Deacon and I danced until about eleven-thirty. I glanced over at Iris dancing with our best mate, Cyrus Nott. Iris has had feelings for Cyrus since our first year at Hogwarts. She literally screamed when he asked her to the Yule Ball.

"Excuse me, but Cam, would you like to dance?" James asked.

"Of course," I said to him. He took me out on the dance floor and we danced to the last couple of songs by the Dragon Wizards, my favorite band.

"What are you doing here with Flint? He tried to make Professor Higgs give him the Seeker position so your brother wouldn't have it. Also, Flint tried to snog Al's girlfriend last year."

I shook my head, "Scorpius still is Seeker and I'm not and will never date Albus so I don't see a problem with it."

"I guess you're right," James agreed as he walked with me back to Deacon. I could tell he really didn't mean what he said.

"Well this is almost over. Care for me to walk you back to our Common Room?" Deacon asked politely. I told him it would be wonderful since I was so tired. We made it back to the dungeons pretty quickly. Deacon almost seemed to be tugging my arm out of my socket. There was a shooting pain in my shoulder from all the pulling. I looked around and realized we were in the wrong corridor for the entrance to Slytherin.

"Deacon, Slytherin is the other way," I told him.

"Well of course Cam. The night isn't over," he said mysteriously. We rounded a corner and were at the abandoned Potions classroom. No one had used it since before the Battle of Hogwarts. It was kept clean though in honor of Professor Snape as requested by Harry Potter.

"What are we doing here?" I questioned. Deacon didn't even respond. He just pressed his lips against mine and started to kiss me roughly.

I pulled away from him, "Bloody hell!" I tried to get up, but he held my arm firmly.

"Where are you going Princess Malfoy? No one knows we're here," he said in a sickening tone. I wanted to hex him but my wand was in a pocket under my dress robes and I needed my arm to get to it. He pushed me down onto one of the potion tables. I tried to kick at him, but he was anticipating it. "Seeker reflexes," he whispered. I groaned as I thought about what James said. Deacon mistook my groan as permission and placed one hand at the bottom of my dress robes.

"No!" I tried to say more firmly while pushing at him at the same time. I may have been a whiz with spells, but physically he was going to win. The edges of my vision started to go black while my breathing weakened.

"Bloody hell, what's going on here?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

"Go away Potter!" Deacon yelled. Merlin's beard, I was not going to catch a break tonight.

In seconds, Deacon had been thrown back to the floor. I didn't know that Albus was capable of such a powerful defensive spell. When I looked to where they both were, I noticed that Albus didn't even have his wand in his hand. He had pulled Deacon off of me with just his hands.

"You go near her again, and expelling me won't be enough to keep you safe at night," I heard him say as I gathered my stuff. I hurried out of the classroom. My quick, shallow breaths were echoing throughout the corridor.

"What in Merlin's beard were you thinking?" Albus asked when he caught up to me.

"I wasn't thinking anything," I started to respond and he continued.

"I know you weren't thinking or you would have never said yes to him in the first place. Do you want to be a slag?"

I stopped like I had been struck in the face. I whipped around to face him, "Just because I said yes to a date doesn't imply that I wanted to be anything!"

"You accepted a date from Deacon Flint! Everyone knows what that means!"

"No, Albus, they don't! I just said yes to a date to a ball. Nowhere in there did I say yes to a shag from him!"

Albus shook his head at me like I was daft, "I'm sorry, I forget that you live in your own little princess world. You don't pay attention to what's going on around you."

"Stop calling me that! I do not act like a princess! This is why I hate you Albus Potter! You may think you're a gentleman, but you're still an evil sod! Yelling at me after something like that is not something a good-hearted wizard, someone like your dad, would do!" I shouted at him before running the rest of the way back to our Common Room and into my dormitory.


	4. Little Surprises

_**Author's Note: This story will shift POV every three chapters.**_

* * *

Chapter Four: Little Surprises

Part One: August 15, 2028

"Thank you Mr. Potter," Scorp said to my dad for about the hundredth time tonight.

"Scorpius, you and my son have been friends for eleven years. I think you can call me Harry," my dad said for about the billionth time in mine and Scorp's friendship, "Anyway, why are you so thankful?"

"Thank you for making dinner and having Cam and me," he answered.

"You're welcome. I know that you are adults, but sometimes in situations like these, it's nice to have company," my father said to the two of them, "And you're more than welcome to stay here if you need to be away from the Manor." I almost spit out my peas. I could not handle a night with Cam Malfoy in the house.

"You could share my room," James said to her with a grin. I wanted to punch him.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want that. This little guy keeps me up at least a third of the night," she told my brother as she adjusted her son in her lap. It was funny, but he reminded me of someone. I thought about how I probably knew his father.

"Cam, this may be a sensitive subject, but when did you have Micah?" My mother asked. I was grateful for once that she was so nosy. We were all wondering the same thing. I couldn't understand how she just disappeared a year ago and came back with a six-month-old baby.

"Micah was born on the second of February this year," she answered. She looked at me then. I glared back at her.

"If you want deary, I could take Micah, and you can stay in James' room. I'm sure you need some sleep with all the excitement," my mother offered. I really looked at Cam then. There were dark circles under her eyes. She looked bloody awful.

"Oh, Mrs. Potter, that would be wonderful, but I don't want to impose."

"Oh it's not imposing. I had three of my own," my mother responded.

"Come on, I'll show you my room," I heard James say after she handed over Micah to my mother. I looked at Scorpius.

"You're okay with her sharing a room with my older brother?" I asked infuriated for some reason.

"Sure. He's a good guy and she really does need sleep. Micah's a handful," Scorpius said before taking Rose's hand and heading to her old room. Rose and Hugo were my cousins, but because of how close my parents were with my aunt and uncle, they had rooms in our house. We had rooms in their house too.

* * *

"WAHHHH!" I woke up to the most bloody awful screeching noise I had ever heard.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Potter, here let me take him so that you can get some rest," I heard Cam's voice outside my door.

"Nonsense deary, I know how to take care of a baby. He just needs to be rocked back to sleep. Go back to sleep yourself. I have it under control," I heard my mother respond to her. I heard Cam sigh in a defeated way, Micah still screaming, and my mother pacing back and forth in the corridor. I couldn't sleep now that the baby's scream had woken me, so I went to the door to see if I could give my mother some help.

"Oh, Al, sorry we woke you, but the little guy seems to be upset," she said and I shook my head as if it didn't matter, then I used my wand to put a silencing spell on the little guy. I don't know why but I held out my hands for him.

"Here let me see him. Maybe I can help since I was the only one who thought of a silencing spell," I said to her groggily. She looked concerned at first, but then reluctantly handed him to me. He stirred and even though I couldn't hear his cries I could see that he was still making them. I shifted him a bit, where his ear was placed up against my chest. He could probably hear my heart beat and from how it looked he was soothed by it.

"Well you certainly have a knack for that," my mother said with a look I couldn't discern, "Why don't you take him back to your room. Let Cam get some sleep. She looks exhausted beyond repair right now." I nodded my agreement, headed back into my room, and set Micah down next to me in the bed. I set up pillows to the side of him even though my bed was king-sized and he would probably never make it to the edge. I quickly muttered the counter spell to his silence and heard him murmuring softly as I gently placed myself next to him. He was actually very adorable all cuddled against my chest. I was so exhausted that it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep next to him.

* * *

I woke up to a gurgling noise and noticed Micah was wide awake and grabbing at my T-shirt. The little bugger smiled up at me and I got that nagging feeling again that he looked like someone, but I couldn't place it. He grabbed at the shirt a second time, balling it up in his fist.

"Well I guess we can go see if your mummy's up," I said to him as I gently lifted him to rest against my shoulder. When I opened the door, James was in the corridor.

"Why do you have Micah?" He asked with a weird look on his face.

"Mum couldn't get him to sleep last night and I could."

"Interesting," he muttered with another weird stare.

"Where's Cam so I can give her back her kid?" I asked.

"She's still asleep. Mum was right, she looked pretty awful," he said with a backwards look at his door. I nodded, but at the same time was a little perturbed that Cam got to sleep in and I got saddled with her kid.

* * *

_Part Two: December 27, 2016_

My dad was really upset. I mean I had seen him upset before, especially when James had accidentally enchanted a broom with Lily on it to fly. She fell from about three feet above the ground and only broke her arm, but Dad was really angry. However, I could feel that he was just upset about having to take me to see my new best mate from Hogwarts.

"Harry, calm down. It's not the end of the world," I heard my mum say to him.

"How can I calm down? My son is best mates with the ferret's son," he responded to her and I watched her shake her head in the same manner as my grandmum. I was lost. I couldn't understand why my dad was so upset. It wasn't even just him. My uncle Ron was cursing the whole thing too. Sometimes adults just didn't make sense.

"You're being so childish. Draco Malfoy has done nothing wrong since the Battle at Hogwarts," Mum scolded Dad and then turned to me, "Al, we have to talk before we take you to the Malfoys tonight."

I looked at her a little confused. What could they possibly have to talk about? I know that Dad, she, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione didn't like Scorpius' dad because of all the war stuff, but this sounded…serious.

"Okay…" I answered.

"We just want to tell you why your dad is worried about you being mates with Scorpius," she started, hesitantly. They both looked uncomfortable.

"Draco Malfoy, your mate's dad, and I were on opposite ends of the war. He was a former Death Eater, and an all-around not good guy. I haven't had a problem with him since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, but it concerns me how good of friends you have become with his son," Dad explained. I was a little shocked at first, but I could understand. Things were different when my dad was my age. He was eleven and battling the worst wizard that ever lived. I was battling having to sit too close to Rachel Clearwater-James in Charms.

"Don't worry Al, we're not saying that we don't want you to be friends with Scorpius. It's just, well, we want you to be careful," Mum said and I nodded. I couldn't believe that Scorp's dad was a Death Eater. It made me slightly scared to go to their house, but I would never say that out loud.

"I'll be careful," I promised. I silently told myself that if I saw anything bad then I was owling them immediately.

* * *

Side-along apparition was officially the worst way to travel, but Mr. Malfoy had given my dad permission to do so outside of his manor. We appeared before a wrought-iron gate. The gate swung open about three minutes later and on the other side was Scorpius and his dad.

"Potter," Mr. Malfoy acknowledged my dad with an open hand.

"Malfoy," my dad said back as he shook his hand. I felt like they were getting ready to duel, not discuss the terms of my visit.

"So, this is Albus?" Scorp's dad asked in a funny tone. "It's like being eleven all over again."

"I can say the same about Scorpius," my dad responded with a slight grin gracing the corners of his mouth. I had no clue what they were going on about.

"Well I guess you should probably come in so that you can see you're not leaving your kid with crazed ex-Death Eaters," Mr. Malfoy finally said with a smirk. I thought Dad would hex him for a bad pun, but it seemed Dad had a grin too. What was going on here?

We followed them into the house and I could see my dad staring in awe.

"This place is completely different," he muttered and I wondered when he had ever seen Malfoy Manor before this. It looked okay to me. There was pale blue paint on the walls, navy blue couches in this hall, and the room off to the right looked to be even cheerier.

About half an hour later my dad left. He seemed satisfied with leaving me in the Malfoys' care and not worried about Death Eater stuff coming to get me.

"Hey, Al, my mum said dinner's almost ready. We should probably head to the dining room," Scorp said to me as he entered the room. He had gone to the loo in between our chess games. I followed him through some corridors and down the stairs to the huge dining room. There was a table that could probably sit eighteen, but only five places were set on one end of it. Mrs. Malfoy strolled out of the kitchen with dishes of food with the most pleasant aromas. It made my stomach gurgle just to smell them.

"Mum, it smells really good," I heard a small voice say from across the table. In the chair directly in front of me sat a little girl with grey eyes and light brown hair.

"Al, this is my sister Cam, Cam this is Al," I heard Scorpius say over scooping potatoes onto his plate.

"Hello Al," she said happily.

"Hello Cam," I said back. I watched her as she pushed peas around on her plate.

"Do not play with your food," her mother scolded and she immediately stopped, filled her fork up with peas, and tried to eat them without blanching.

After dinner, she followed us back to where we were playing chess. She asked all sorts of questions about Hogwarts and told us all about how she couldn't wait to go in two years. I couldn't understand how Scorpius wasn't getting upset with all questions. She was almost worse than my sister, Lily. I was distracted from my thoughts about her annoyingness when she suddenly went pale and doubled over.

"Cam? Cam?" Scorpius yelled. He rushed over to her and I heard a very distinct 'pop' noise. A house elf had just appeared next to them.

"Mips, go get Mum and Dad," Scorpius said the creature, "She's having an attack."

"An attack?" I asked him.

"Yes, she has Young Elfin Grout. She was supposed to not have it anymore, but she got worse. The Healers say if it doesn't disappear soon she probably won't ever make it to Hogwarts. That's why she asks about it all the time. I think she's worried she won't ever get to see it," he explained and I sort of felt bad for thinking that she was being bothersome.

Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy had come into the room by then and I watched as Mr. Malfoy gently picked her up to take her away. As he left out the door with her, I saw how pale she had become. Also, I noticed how Mr. Malfoy acted the same way with her the way my dad had when Lily had broken her arm. It made me think about how he probably couldn't be as bad of a wizard now as he was when he was younger. I reminded myself to tell my dad about that.

* * *

At three in the morning, I wandered to the loo, and stumbled upon Cam. She was on the corridor floor looking sicklier than she had.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked her as I knelt to help her stand.

"I wanted a drink of water and I didn't want to bother Mum or Dad," she said matter-of-factly.

"You shouldn't be up and about by yourself right now," I told her instinctively, as if it were my job to protect her. It was weird because as an eleven-year-old wizard I should have not cared about this nine-year-old girl, but I was worried. I had seen how her family looked when they saw her.

"I don't want to wake up my family," she whispered back fiercely.

"I'm sure they would rather you wake them up then end up dead in their corridor," I answered back.

She gasped, "That was a rude thing to say."

"It's the truth," I snapped back. She looked like hell and it wasn't long before we were in her room and she swooned right before making it to her bed. I lifted her as best I could the rest of the way and knew that would not be the last time that Cam Malfoy would do something bloody daft that would make me mad.


	5. Decision Making Skills

**_Author's Note: The second parts of these chapters are not flashbacks like the characters are specifically remembering them at that moment. They are literally part of the story that just happens to take place at a different time than the present. So this means that everything Al is doing in the second part of this chapter is not him remembering it later, but him actually doing it at the moment. I just wanted to clarify that so that people don't think that he remembers everything and she doesn't so that makes her a sort of rape victim._**

* * *

Chapter Five: Decision Making Skills

Part One: August 16, 2028

I finally returned Micah to his mother at noon. That's when she decided to crawl from James' bed. James told me to be nice when I returned the tyke to her. And, that the reason she didn't wake until noon was because she was so bloody tired, according to him.

"What are you doing with Micah?" She asked calmly, but I could tell she wanted to lash out at me for some reason.

"He woke me up last night, and I took him from Mum because he got quiet for me," I answered her, leaving out the part where I put a silencing charm on her infant. She already looked like she was going to send an Unforgivable my way.

"Oh, I'm sorry he woke you up," was the only thing she said as she took Micah from me. I noticed that she had a strange look on her face, but it changed almost as soon as it had appeared. Cam stood there for about two more minutes before walking away with her son snuggled against her chest.

"Bloody annoying that one," I mumbled to myself as I went back to my room. James caught me in the corridor.

"Were you nice?" He asked. It was like he was suddenly dating her.

"I didn't call her a bint, if that's what you mean," I responded in an irritated tone.

"_Albus_," he mimicked Mum, using my full name. Oh Merlin, I hated when anyone called me by that name, but especially when they said it in that manner. It sounded like they were scolding me for something. It was bloody aggravating. Since I was the offspring of Harry and Ginny Potter, a Slytherin, and Scorpius Malfoy's best mate, I have had the constant burden of having to hear my full name spoken just like that. I could recall quite a few times that Professor McGonagall had said it that way when she called me into the Headmistress Office for some misdeed that I had performed.

"What? I was very cordial. I explained why I had the little bugger, gave him back, and she went on her way," I retorted to his taunt. He shook his head at me and then headed in the same direction that Cam went. The whole world was nutters. It was the only explanation I had for any of it.

* * *

Mrs. Malfoy looked bloody awful when we went to visit her again. She had paled considerably since yesterday, and the Healers mentioned she was not eating well. I watched as my best mate held in as much of his feelings as he could. I had only seen Scorpius cry once, and that was not too long after my first visit to his house. He was pulled from Hogwarts for the weekend because they thought they were going to lose Cam. Somehow she miraculously pulled out of it, but for forty-eight hours, Scorp was of the mind that his sister was about to die. It couldn't be any easier for a similar thing to be happening to his mother over a decade later.

"You want me to get Rose?" I asked him. Being the love of his life, my cousin was much more equipped to help him through this than I was. I mean I was and will always be his best mate, but there are some things that only spouses can handle.

"Sure," he barely whispered. His eyes never left his mum. I could sympathize. If it were my mum lying in that hospital bed, I would have been a bigger wreck than he was being. Scorp at least had half a mind to keep it together for his dad; I would have been a mess and left it up to one of my siblings to take care of Dad if this were my situation.

I ventured out into the corridor and down the way to the room that our respective families were inside, waiting. It was not alarming to see my brother here, as he has become good friends with Scorp as of late, but my parents and sister were here too. I raised an eyebrow at Lily, thinking she would give me an answer.

She shrugged, "I guess we're all family now." I almost laughed at that considering the talk I got about the Malfoys before I visited the Manor all those years ago. Instead of laughing, I didn't want to risk my mother's wrath; I moved toward Rose and told her that her husband needed her.

On the way back to the room, we ran into Cam. Literally. She walked right into my chest. The sudden jolt caused Micah to begin moving his mouth as if he were going to wail.

Cam looked defeated as she started to coo to the little bugger, "Oh please Micah, don't cry. Mummy didn't mean to walk into D-…" She stopped herself before finishing her sentence. My interest piqued at where she possibly could have been headed. I could just hear her finishing it with, "dreadful Albus."

"Well an apology would be nice," I drawled and she snapped her head up to glare at me.

"Sorry, Albus," she apologized sarcastically. Oh yeah she really meant that.

"Al, leave her alone," Rose chided from my side, before pulling me with her. Leave it to my know-it-all cousin to ruin a perfectly good quip that was forming in my brain.

Cam followed right behind us to her mother's room. She sat on the other side by her father. She adjusted Micah into one arm and used the other to drape around Mr. Malfoy. She looked exhausted again even though she had slept until noon. I watched as she rubbed circles in her father's back and bounced Micah in her lap.

"How are you darling?" I heard him ask her. If my father hadn't shown me memories in his Pensieve, then I would never believe this man had even had a horrible bone in his body. I could not fathom how he could even take a minute to ask about Cam's well-being when he was suffering through his wife's illness. However, I guess that was his daughter, so maybe it was understandable (just not to me).

"I'm fine Daddy. Don't worry about me. Worry about Mum, and taking care of yourself," she answered much stronger than she appeared. I watched as Scorp glanced up at his little sister. He looked extremely concerned by her flippant attitude toward herself.

A Healer entered the room and immediately began to talk to all three Malfoys (distinguishable by their matching grey eyes). Rose and I stood off to the side so as not to get in the way, but still be there for Scorpius. It was in that moment that I noticed Cam had no one in the room for her. I knew Iris Zabini was her best mate, but the woman was a model for Witch Weekly which meant she was currently in Milan and most likely unreachable. I wondered where Micah's father was and if he even cared about Cam. Now I sounded like a poof because I was worried about a girl that I didn't even like. Cam Malfoy was one of the most irritating women I had ever had the misfortune to meet.

* * *

_Part Two: May 2, 2027_

Cam walked away from me after I insulted Rose. I had no clue why I insulted her. It had something to do with Scorp, I think. I had way too many drinks at this party. Cam had wandered over to Nott, and started drinking something that was unnaturally colored. That probably wasn't good.

After about an hour she left Nott and headed to a squashy chair in the corner of the ballroom. I took the few steps over to where Nott was still located.

After a second of watching him dole out shots for some of the other party guests, I asked him, "What did you give Cam?"

"Oh, that one, she likes the hard stuff. It's called Blue Fairy. One shot of it could get someone her size pissed, and she knows it, but drinks about twelve anyway," he answered. He gave me a strange look with one of his eyebrows raised, but I was too knockered to care. I made my way over to Cam to insult her drinking habits. If Scorp was going to spend his whole party snogging my cousin, then I had to find some form of entertainment. What better way to do that then participating in my favorite past time of annoying Cam?

"So I hear you're sloshed," I stated. She looked up at me with some wicked steel-grey eyes. Aunt Hermione had always told me that Mr. Malfoy had that same look when he was angry.

"Go away Albus," she slurred.

"Witty."

She glared and repeated, "Go away."

Having had quite a few drinks of Firewhiskey myself, I leaned down and whispered to her, "What if I don't want to?" I was not sure why I did it, but I ran a finger down the side of her face. I really had to be drunk. I hated this girl and here I was touching her like she was my girlfriend. I needed to stop drinking at these parties.

Cam stood and was trying to get past me when she fell. We both plummeted to the ground and landed with an 'umph.' She was on top and pulled herself up to look at me.

"You are always in my way Albus," she slurred again as she tried to get her body off of mine, but our legs were entwined.

Iris Zabini, Cam's best mate, wandered over from sitting by Nott and helped us out of our position.

She looked at Cam, "Maybe you guys should get a room for that line you're crossing." She winked at her and then pushed Cam in my direction. I was confused, but I didn't have time to think about it as Cam took my hand and pulled me along. I had been to the Manor a million times growing up, and knew that she was taking me in the general direction of her room. My brain was telling me that I needed to stop this before it went where I thought it was going to go.

When she opened the door to her room, I was shocked that it looked nothing like the room I had taken her to when she was nine-years-old. I guessed that I would always picture her as that stubborn, but pain-in-the-arse little girl she had been a decade ago. The room was a deep purple and emerald green instead of the pastel blues and greens of her youth. One wall had moving posters of the Dragon Wizards, a band that I knew she loved first-hand. She had screeched when she heard they'd be at the Yule Ball that was held at Hogwarts my sixth year.

She had left for a moment into an adjoining room (it may have been a closet) and came back with an entire bottle of the blue drink she had downstairs with Nott. I shook my head at her. That was Cam Malfoy, always doing the daft thing.

"Have a drink with me Al Potter?" She asked in barely a whisper. I was shocked to hear her call me Al, something she had only ever called me once before when we met. I wasn't sure if it was the surprise from her calling me Al or the fact that her top's neckline kept dipping enough for me to see her cleavage, but I knew I wasn't going to stop myself. She handed me a shot glass of the obnoxiously coloured liquor and held up her own.

She clinked it against mine and said, "To crossing fine lines." I had no clue what she meant, but I toasted with her nonetheless. We downed the drink together and I could understand its appeal. It tasted like one of my grandmum's blueberry biscuits. At the same time I was marveling the taste, I noticed that I was suddenly a little less steady than I had been previously. Nott was right, this stuff would get anyone bloody pissed, and Cam was a lot smaller…

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden shove she gave me into her door. Yes, this was going exactly where I thought it was and I was too hazy and unconcerned to stop it. Especially now, that she had gotten on her tiptoes to kiss me as I was about a foot taller than her. She tasted like the blueberry liquor and chocolate. It was an astonishingly enticing combination. I really hated this girl, but it wasn't enough to stop me from kissing her back and then continuing to nip down her neckline. She made a whimper of pleasure and I lifted her up to me. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I knew we were goners that were going to hate ourselves in the morning.

Cam's mouth found my neck and she alternated between kissing, licking, and nibbling. If I were in my right mind I would have thought about how this was my best mate's little sister, but at that moment her hand went up my shirt and her nails grazed my back. And in my current condition, all I could do was try to find her lips again and stumble to her bed. Moments later I succeeded and set her onto her bed as I hovered above her. Her shirt had dipped low enough for me to see the mesh and lace black bra she was wearing. I was not stopping now. I quickly tore at her to remove the shirt over her head. I stared in awe at the assets that Cam possessed that I had not noticed until this moment. My hand grazed the revealing fabric and she shuddered. I took a few more seconds to stare at her before she suddenly reached up and pulled my shirt off of me.

When we had ridden ourselves of our trousers, I accidentally ripped her pants. Neither of us cared as we continued on in hurried motions.

* * *

I was suddenly cold. My head was groggy and I just remembered it being a night full of bad decisions. I was hoping that I would not turn and find Cam. First, I had to find my glasses. I stretched on my right arm knowing that there would be a night table with them on it. I heard her make a discontented sigh and knew she recognised me. I barely remembered most of what happened, but I knew with how much she had drank, she had no clue. Poor decision making skills that I had, Scorpius may use an Unforgiveable the next time he saw me.

I slid my glasses up the bridge of my nose, put on a confused face, and asked, "Malfoy?"

"Yes. It's me."

"Bloody hell!" I exclaimed as I really looked at her and then myself. Both of us were in ripped knickers. "Did we…?" I knew the answer to that, but I had to ask anyway.

"I think so," she answered in a relatively calm voice before launching into a screeching fit, "You did this you know? It's always the bloke's fault when people drink!"

"Bollocks! You probably lured me up here! This is your room! Plus, I saw you doing those shots of Blue Fairy with Nott. You were probably so sloshed you thought I was him, and I was sloshed so I wasn't going to deny you!" I yelled back. I was the world's worst bloke because I knew only some of that was partly true. It was hazy and my memory was shoddy, but I knew some of this was my fault too. I could feel my face turning red as it always did when I was upset.

"See you just admitted to it," she said before throwing her hand mirror at me, "Get out Albus Potter! You're a giant slimy git and I hate you!"

I hurriedly put on the clothes we had scattered about the room. I looked back at her when I got to the door.

"Good because I hate you too! You always were a selfish little bint," I said before leaving her room and slamming the door. Wow I really was a slimy git, but we needed to go back to hating each other because last night had to go away and go away quickly.


	6. Brothers and Sisters

**Chapter Six: Brothers and Sisters**

Part One: August 18, 2028

I hadn't seen Scorp since his mum had been released from Mungo's. He had been with her and Rose at the Manor since yesterday. I thought it was good for all of them that she was okay. Mrs. Malfoy was the person who kept that family from falling apart.

"James, I'm so glad you invited me out for some dinner," I heard a distinctive female voice say in the corridor outside my bedroom door. I had to go see if I was hearing things. Using my foot, I nudged my door all the way open and found James and Cam outside his door talking.

How could she have left Mrs. Malfoy's side? I cleared my throat and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Cam looked over at me and her demeanor changed instantly. She shrugged her shoulders and replied, "My father wanted Scorp and I to leave the Manor to let my mum get some rest. I took Micah over to my godfather's and James invited me to dinner. Now I'm here." She said all of this in a tone that said, 'I don't actually have to explain anything to you.'

"Al, would it kill you to not be a total arse to her every once in a while?" James questioned before opening his room door. He gestured for her to enter; he followed, and slammed the door shut. I stood there in the corridor alone staring at my brother's closed door. What was going on here? Were my brother and Cam now dating? Did Scorpius know about this? As my confusion mounted to about one hundred unanswered questions in my head, my mother yelled up the stairs for me.

"Al! Can you come help me with something?"

I trudged slowly down the staircase to the kitchen. I was sure I would find her there.

She looked at me when I wandered in with a frown on her face.

"What?"

"I heard the way you talked to Cam. I don't know why you don't like that girl, but your attitude with her will not be tolerated. I raised you better than that. She's suffering through something with her mother and you have to be a rude git. I don't like it," she scolded me. If I had known I was coming down here for a lecture, then I would have pretended like I didn't hear her.

"I'm sorry and I'll tell her that too. We just get under each other's skin. We have since the day we met," I told her the truth. She nodded her head.

"You make sure you apologize. I don't know if you'll ever get along, but you should at least be nice to her. Especially now, when I think your brother may fancy her a bit," she added. I was nodding and following along to what she said until that last part. What did she mean James fancied Cam?

"Don't look so surprised. James has been spending a lot of time with her since she returned from France. Surely you noticed?"

Yes, I noticed, I'm not daft Mother, but I didn't really think he fancied her. I thought he was being polite. If my brother was dating Cam Malfoy, I would retch. I nodded that I would apologize to Cam before going back upstairs.

I stood in my doorway staring at James' door. I wondered what they could be doing in James' room. What did he see in her? She was pain in the arse and always had been.

"Al, why are you staring at James' door like that?" Lily asked me from the edge of the stairs that lead up to the third floor of the house.

"He went in there with Cam Malfoy," I answered her.

"Oh well, I don't know her as well as you two, but she seems like a good match for James."

Had the whole world gone mental? In what world would James work with Cam Malfoy? I stared at her in disbelief.

"You don't think it's weird that she just returned from France with an infant and now she's hanging around James?"

Lily shook her head, "We don't know what happened to her so there's no reason for me to judge." My father always said Lily was wiser than we gave her credit for being. He told me she gets that from Aunt Luna. I didn't know how that was possible when Aunt Luna wasn't really related to us, but Dad said family is family and everyone has an impact on your upbringing. Bollocks if you asked me, but no one ever does.

I didn't wait more than ten minutes before James and Cam came out of his room again.

"Cam," I started, "I just want to apologize for my attitude earlier." With that said I turned back into my room and shut the door.

* * *

_Part Two: September 1, 2019_

We got off the train at the Hogsmeade station. Scorpius and I told our sisters to go with Hagrid to the first year boats, while we got in the carriages. We had spent the whole ride with Cam in our compartment. Scorpius' little sister always drove me batty. I couldn't believe she and Lily were first years now. Scorp and I had two whole years to ourselves, well I mean James was here, but he was a Gryffindor and a year older, so I barely ever saw him.

"First years," Scorp whispered and I looked over to where Professor Smith was leading the large group of first years (our sisters included) up to the stool with the Sorting Hat. A large scroll appeared in the air and Professor Smith began to read out of it.

"Adams, Magdalena!"

A girl about eight inches shorter than me with long dark hair stumbled up to the stool. The hat didn't even touch her head as it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Scorpius poked at me. His cousin, Everett Greengrass-Newark, was headed to the Sorting Hat. Everett occasionally would spend time with us at Mrs. Malfoy's various parties. He was okay to be around for someone two years younger than us.

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat had chosen Everett's fate in the house of the smart. Scorp waved to his cousin and then leaned toward me.

"I really wish this didn't take so long," he whispered. He really was bored by it all.

"Longbottom, Alice," Professor Smith continued down the list. We were getting rapidly closer to our sisters' sorting. Alice was placed in Gryffindor (which was not a surprise as the Head of House was her father, Herbology professor, and good friend to my parents-who were also Gryffindors). She and her brother, Eldon, were just as much family to me as my actual blood cousins.

"Well of course she's a Gryffindor…what else would she be?" Scorpius remarked. It was moments like this that he seemed very much like his father from my dad's memories. I ignored him. I may be a Slytherin, but I wasn't an arse.

"Malfoy, Carina." I paused what I was doing because I was confused.

"Your sister's name is Carina?" I quietly asked Scorpius.

He nodded his head, "Of course, what did you think it was?"

"I don't know, Camille. Your entire family calls her Cam."

"First of all, Camille is not an astrological name. Second, my uncle Blaise gave her the nickname because he thinks mine is bloody ridiculous and refused to call another godchild by a ridiculous name. He gave her the nickname because it's her initials, Carina Astraea Malfoy…C, A, M."

"Oh, well, that's bloody mad," I responded. For two whole years I thought her name was Camille. I felt like an arse a little bit now.

Cam had taken forever to go from the back of the line to the stool. She always was a dawdler. When she finally sat down, I was not surprised that the hat didn't even make it to her head. The bloody thing called out Slytherin two inches above her head. Apparently, Malfoys were going to always be Slytherins…even in this world that was very different from the previous generations.

Scorpius clapped for his little sister, and I had a very distinct scowl on my face. I really disliked Cam.

"Nott, Cyrus!" A boy I had recognized from the Malfoys' home (he was a mate of Cam's) strode confidently up to the hat. He too, was placed in Slytherin. He quietly joined Cam at the other end of the table.

The list had finally gotten to my younger sister, Lily, and interestingly, she was placed in Ravenclaw. I knew my dad would say that was because she was exactly like Aunt Luna, but that was bollocks. Aunt Luna was not really our aunt. She was just a friend of my parents from the days of Voldemort and darkness.

The final person to be sorted was "Zabini, Iris." I knew her from the Malfoy home as well. She was Scorp's godfather's daughter. She was also Cam's best mate.

It wasn't long before McGonagall stood, gave us some start-of-term notices, and then we were able to eat. I looked across to the Gryffindor table and saw my older brother, James, talking to his friends. I thought it was a good thing we were in different houses. I spent my whole life with him. It wasn't that I hated him, because I didn't. Actually, besides taunting me about being put into Slytherin before I even got to Hogwarts, he wasn't a bad guy. I knew I should probably go talk to him after the feast. We would both want to make sure Lils remembered to write Mum and Dad.


	7. Lessons Learned

Chapter Seven: Lessons Learned

Part One: September 1, 2028

I watched as my brother squirmed in discomfort at the triple date situation we were having. I had invited Cam as a gesture to lighten her mood and provide her time from my nephew. Also, I wanted to convince her that Al needed to know Micah was his. However, I had forgotten that argument as I watched Al struggle with his emotions every time I moved in a romantic gesture to Cam. I had always believed my brother fancied her, but I didn't really know how much until now.

Cam rested her head on my shoulder. Anyone could plainly tell that she was exhausted from a combination of the ordeal with her mother a couple of weeks ago and being a single mother. Yet, Al looked as if he could spit basilisk venom at me. His own date, Marigold Flint, was fortunately batty enough to not notice his obvious discomfort.

"James, can I speak with you a moment?" Scorpius asked. He and Rose were with us before they departed for their honeymoon tomorrow, a trip that was delayed because of Mrs. Malfoy's illness.

I nodded and followed Scorpius to a narrow corridor in the restaurant's secluded section. I waited for him to speak.

"James, you know I've started to value you like an older brother, but I have to ask. Why are you here with my sister?" He bluntly asked. I chuckled a little. Scorpius must know the truth about Micah's parentage as well. He might even know my brother's strong likeness to our father in that he won't realize he's in love with his best mate's younger sister until it's almost too late.

"I'm her friend and she needs time to herself. She has a mother hen complex that one does," I answered with only a portion of the truth.

Scorpius nodded slightly before speaking, "Yes, she always has. However, I meant more about why are you here with her when she's told me that you guessed the truth about Micah?" Ah, so Scorpius did know about Micah and knew that I was privy to the knowledge as well.

I looked at him, sighed, and answered, "I'm not going to lie to you since I feel you and I have become friends. I think Al is in love with your sister and won't even admit it to him let alone her, but I'm going to bloody well try to get him to admit to it. I want Cam to trust him enough to reveal Micah so that my family stops missing out on him."

I watched as he thought about it for a moment before speaking, "I guess I'm not ecstatic that eventually my best mate and my sister are going to be together, but you're right, and I think Cam may even fancy him too."

"Sorry about that, it must be a Potter tradition beginning to form. My mum is my dad's best mate's sister too. I always said Al was the most like Dad. As for Cam, I genuinely like her, always have, and I think they both need a nudge in the right direction," I explained.

"We're agreed there," Scorpius acknowledged before gesturing for us to head back to our table. Our conversation took about ten minutes so everyone looked at us confused when we returned to our table. I deflected it with some James Potter charm.

"What? He wanted to know some stuff about Rosie growing up and in Gryffindor for the honeymoon," I said to them with a grin. Rose blushed.

"To Scorpius and Rose," Cam said raising her glass and the rest of us followed suit. While everyone was toasting the couple's glasses, I caught Scorpius' eye and winked.

At first he was confused, but then I announced, "Well ladies and gentlemen, it was fun to have spent dinner with you, but my date and I must move onto our next activity." I watched as Scorpius smirked, Rose looked at Cam with a smile, Marigold ignored it completely, and Al was starting to turn a nice shade of tomato.

"We have something else planned?" Cam asked, lost, but sounding okay with the idea.

"Yes milady and we need to leave to get there," I answered her as I took her hand.

"Well then, I guess we should go," she stood, giving everyone the view in her dress. I knew that unofficially she was Al's but that didn't mean I couldn't appreciate what I was seeing. The last time I had seen her dressed up before the wedding was Al's graduation from Hogwarts and she was cute. She had worn a green dress that went calf-length and was strapless. Now in the black number she was wearing, she looked fit. She had curves that were blessed to her by her pregnancy. The dress had one strap around her neck that dipped low into those curves and barely sat above her knees. When Al finally stopped trying to convince himself he hated her, he was going to be a lucky bloke.

We walked together to the entrance of the restaurant and I did a side-along apparition with her once we were in a safe place. We reappeared in front of what looked like a condemned building to Muggles.

"Where are we James?" She asked.

"My cousin Fred owns this place. It's a wizarding dance club. He fell in love with this Muggle-born in one of his classes during school and somehow got this idea."

I watched as she processed the information. Wizarding dance clubs were relatively new to our community. The one in front of us was the birthplace of the craze. Fred really had gotten the idea from a Muggle-born after he had gone on a date with her in Muggle London. He called it Weasley's Wanton Way. Fred claimed that he had gotten the idea from the name of his dad's joke shop. I believed him since now we had two places in the family that we called Triple W.

I walked us to the front of the extremely long line to the entrance.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley told us to be expecting you," the wizi-guard said to me as he opened the gate for us. Cam looked up approvingly at me.

"Aren't you special?" She asked cheekily.

"I am James Potter," I retorted before leading her into the main room. The bar was along the south wall, while there was an enormous dance floor in the middle. Cam squealed with delight.

"I haven't had a good night out since Micah came into my life," she informed me. I was glad that she was going to have a good time here. That was what I was hoping it would do. As someone who thought she was a good person and a good witch, I just wanted her to have an enjoyable time. She needed time away from Micah and from the romantic mess she and my brother had created.

* * *

_Part Two: __December 25, 2022_

One of the perks to being a Potter kid was that I got to go home for Christmas no matter if I left for winter holidays when they started or not. Headmistress McGonagall prepared the Floo for Al, Lily, and me. I wasn't sure if my cousins had already left or if they would be here doing the same from the Headmistress' office later.

"I just hate her," I heard Al mumble as he groggily got into the fireplace. He shouted out our home, and disappeared in green flames. Lily followed him, and I followed her. I hated the feeling of travelling by Floo, and was relieved when I touched down in the fireplace of my childhood home. My mother and father greeted me with hugs even though I was seventeen and too old for this kind of greeting.

Al shoved off after the greetings in a hurry. As someone who has known him his whole life, I knew something was wrong. It probably had to do with whatever he kept grumbling.

"James, where are you going? We have to be at the Burrow in a couple of hours," my mother informed me.

"I'm going to go talk to Al," I told her as I went up the stairs to our rooms. I knocked on his door, heard a stifled groan, and waited for him to open it.

When he finally opened the door, ten minutes later, he was standing in the doorway like someone hit him with the Knight Bus. "What is wrong with you? You keep grumbling and walking around like Nearly Headless Nick when he gets rejected from that club all the time. It's Christmas," I asked him.

He pushed the door open farther to suggest I come in; whatever was wrong it was something he didn't want to share with our family. I entered the room, picked my favorite chair in the corner of his room, and he closed the door.

"Spill," I said as I took my seat and he went back to his bed.

He hesitated, "Cam Malfoy almost got raped last night." Well that was not what I was expecting to hear.

"How?" I questioned in shock. I had just danced with her last night at the Yule Ball. Cam was one of my favourite people, partly because she got under Al's skin so much.

"We had gotten back to the common room and Zabini told me that she hadn't returned. She said that she saw her dance with you, and then supposedly left with Flint for the dungeons. So, I went looking for her. If they were snogging I didn't want Scorpius to be the one to see her snogging our nemesis. I found them in the old Potions lab. Flint had her on one of the tables and I could hear her clearly telling him no. I went at him in a blind rage, James," he explained. He was almost hyperventilating he was so upset by the whole thing. He was always saying how much he hated Cam, so I didn't understand how he could be so concerned. "What's worse is she didn't see how going to the ball with him would cause this problem."

Ah, there was the Al I knew. The Al that made things Cam's fault and didn't think rationally when it came to her. I believed he secretly fancied her, but I didn't really have proof of that beyond these few moments. "First of all, just because she accepted a dance invitation doesn't mean she asked for a shag. Second, what do you mean you went into a blind rage?"

He shook his head at me. "Fine, maybe she didn't, but she has to know that Flint is a wanker. Anyway, I pulled him off of her and threw him. I couldn't believe that I had done it."

His shock and the way his eyes went a very dark green as he talked about the incident, made me believe my theory a little more. Yes, I'm sure he was worried about her because that was his best mate's sister, but there was something else there. I knew he wasn't aware of it yet, but he definitely had feelings for Cam.

"You did the right thing mate. I'm sure it'll be fine. However, I wouldn't tell Scorpius. He doesn't really need to get expelled for killing someone the year before he graduates," I reassured him, "Get some sleep. I'll come wake you to get ready to go to the Burrow in an hour."

"Thanks," he answered. I watched as he stared at his hands. Al never was a physical fighter. Dueling and charms were his specialty.

Before I left, "I know you think Cam is not aware of the people around her, but I think she is, she just wants to do what's nice and best for everyone. Dad always says that she is more like her mother than Mr. Malfoy and that Mrs. Malfoy seemed genuinely kind."


	8. Believing in the Best

**Chapter Eight: Believing in the Best**

Part One: September 5, 2028

I had spent three of the last four days with Cam, and Al couldn't be any more livid about it. He had cornered me in our shared loo to ask what I was doing with her. I shrugged him off and said it was my business. That had made him angrier. Now, as I sat with Cam in her room in Malfoy Manor she dressed and chattered about France.

"Well I left when I was three months pregnant. Scorpius and I had to restrain Dad from going after Albus. He wanted to hex him into the next millennium. However, I explained what happened, and that I had decided to move to France to one of our homes there. All the fighting with Albus, he would have just made the situation worse because he would have known how I got pregnant. My dad has a second cousin that stayed with me along with eight house elves. I started reading documents from my dad's business. Eventually, I'm going to be running it," she explained and I lounged on her bed. She had finished dressing Micah. He sat on the bed looking at me. How anyone but me didn't see the resemblance of Micah to Al was astounding. He was a mini Al with Cam's eyes.

"When are you going to tell Al that he's Micah's father?" I asked her. Her head whipped around to look at me, but I kept a defiant glare. My mother and father were missing out on their grandson because she couldn't handle the situation.

"James, I'm not ready. He's going to curse me off the planet for having been pregnant," she managed to stutter.

I shook my head, "Well you two are going to have a row, there is no doubt about that, but he will not curse you." The both of them were prats when it came to this. They bloody well loved each other, and couldn't admit it.

"I am going to tell him. I just don't know when."

"Sometime before Micah's eleventh birthday is probably a good idea. You know, so Al can at least get to be there when he goes off to Hogwarts," I smarted.

She huffed, "It will be before his eleventh birthday, you arse. I'm going to do it within the next month. I just don't know how or how soon." I sighed on her bed. That had to be good enough for me. It wasn't my place to share that information. I wanted to, but I knew I couldn't. Cam and Al had to clean up their mess.

"Well since that's settled; are you ready to take my nephew to the Burrow?"

Cam looked at me, "I guess he's presentable." She looked at him in his little denim trousers and light blue shirts and smiled. It was obvious that Cam thought he was the most precious thing in the world. We were taking him to visit with my grandmum because she adored kids and Micah was technically her great grandson. I had convinced Cam that it was a good idea.

We Flooed to the Burrow and were immediately greeted by my granddad.

"Hello James. How are you?" He asked as the fireplace shown green again and Cam appeared with Micah. "Oh, company I see," he said with a bit of jest in his voice.

"Yes, but not like that," I said to him, "Grandpa this is Cam Malfoy and her son, Micah." I introduced them and Cam shook his hand before he got distracted by the baby.

I watched as he asked to hold Micah and cooed, "Oh he has Malfoy eyes." Cam smiled. I was certain it was because she was relieved that he didn't see Micah's resemblance to Al. "Funny he reminds me of someone else, too." The smile vanished off of her face.

"It'll probably come to you later," I said ushering him off to the sitting room.

"Thank you," she said acknowledging the way I handled my grandfather. I nodded. Al deserved to hear about Micah from her.

"Grandmum! I can't find the gnome spray!" Al shouted from the yard and Cam went rigid. I conveniently forgot to tell her that my entire family (Mum, Dad, Al and Lily) would be here for dinner too. I thought a taste of guilt pie would make her tell Al about Micah.

"Bloody hell James! Albus is here?" She asked. I shrugged my shoulders and gave her my most innocent look. That was the moment when Al decided to enter the kitchen. He took one look at Cam and I, went red at the tips of the ears, and walked right back out into the yard.

"If he's going to be here, then I should go," Cam mentioned. No, she wasn't getting out of this that easily.

I shook my head, "You're going to have to get used to his surly attitude sometime. Especially, if you really do plan on telling him about Micah, which you better tell him."

Cam glared at me, "Of course I'm going to tell him. I've told you that I'm going to bloody well tell him! I just don't want to see him until I have to tell him." Cam was a rambler when she was upset; it was one of the many things I had noticed about her since I started fake dating her. She didn't know it was false, but Scorp and I did.

"This is why I'm so glad I was a Gryffindor. You bloody Slytherins and your cowardly habits," I mumbled, "Al and his git self fits in there, too."

"What did you say?" She asked flipping her caramel hair over her shoulder while expertly maneuvering Micah.

"Nothing. Thinking out loud," I told her. I didn't need her tossing a hex my way just because I had insulted her family's house. "It'll be fine. We're going to eat dinner. Everyone already adores you."

"Not Albus," she countered.

I sighed, "Al doesn't mind you when he thinks you're not being a prat."

"Do you think I'm a prat?" She asked seriously.

"No, I don't think you're a prat. I'm saying that when he believes you're not being a prat, he doesn't mind you. I'm his brother. I've known him his whole life. Trust me."

"Okay," she responded, shifting Micah in her arms again.

* * *

_Part Two: June 8, 2024_

Al and Scorpius were inseparable, even for graduation parties. They had forced our parents and the Malfoys to have a joint one. Dad was _ecstatic_. He had to coordinate a bunch of stuff with Mr. Malfoy and it was really funny to watch Mum tell him to behave himself every time he made a cheeky comment. We were enjoying the gardens of Malfoy Manor, as Mr. Malfoy had offered it as a place for such a large occasion. We were pretty sure all of wizarding Great Britain was here.

"Hello James," I was greeted by a familiar voice. It was the lovely Cam Malfoy. She was in a dark green dress and had a bloke from my former house and Quidditch team attached to her hand.

"Good afternoon Cam. I see you know Rory," I winked at her.

She answered with a smile, "Yes, we started dating in April."

"Good for you. How were O.W.L.s?" I knew she wanted to join her dad's business once she was done with school and he required that she get at least E's on all of her subjects.

"I think I did well, but we won't know until August. Daddy is going to hire me even if I don't get all E's. Scorpius doesn't want to be a business person and I do. You know he wants to be a Quidditch player. Enough about us though, how is the training to be a Hit Wizard?"

"It's excellent. I think it's going to be better than being an Auror like Al wants to do. We get all these special privileges to bring people in to the Ministry. Dad is proud of me though. He likes just being an Auror, but I think this work is bloody brilliant!" I explained all of this to her. Normally, I didn't share this information with girls as they usually thought it was boring, but Cam was different. She was genuinely interested. Poor Rory, he was stuck listening to his former Quidditch captain talk about how he was achieving all his dreams.

Cam smiled, "That's excellent James. I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"Cam! Blaise and Iris are here!" Her mother called from the entrance of the gardens.

"We'll talk more later," I told her as she looked torn between finishing her talk with me and taking Rory over to her best mate. Cam walked away, Rory in tow, to her friend.

"Who's that bloke she's got with her?" I heard the familiar jealous tones of my younger brother.

"Why do you care? Do you want to date her?" I asked hoping he would give me a straight answer.

"Bloody hell! Why would you even ask that? You know how much I loathe her," he spat at me. The funny thing was I started to believe that old saying about a fine line between love and hate. Well at least mainly in Al's case I believed it. He hated her so much because he was in love with her. All of her decisions affected him.

I raised an eyebrow, "Then why ask?"

"Because I was curious about him, looks like a bloke from your House," he responded, staring at Cam and Rory. They were still holding hands as she led him away from the party. I had a feeling I knew what they were going to do.

"He is. He was one of our Beaters last year. Good kid. Dad talks about his dad all the time."

"Oh, who is his dad?" Al asked, looking at me again because Cam and Rory had disappeared into the labyrinth part of the gardens. My guess was they were going to have a good snog.

"Oliver Wood," I responded. Al's face went tomato. Not only was the girl he subconsciously fancied with another bloke, but he was the son of a famous Quidditch player too. "What's the matter?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. I'm going to go find Scorpius. I hope he knows about this."

I laughed as he walked away. I guessed that Scorpius was very aware of it, and probably didn't care. Yes the kid was protective of his sister, but not in a way that would prevent her from dating a chap. Al was more concerned about her love life than anyone else in all of Great Britain, or at least so I imagined.

My dad wandered over to the bench where I was sitting.

"You look like you're watching something very closely," he told me. I nodded, but didn't tell him what. Who was I to tell Dad that his other son would be marrying the youngest Malfoy heir one day? I'm sure he would have a heart attack. It was hard enough on him that his niece (and goddaughter) was dating Scorpius.

"I'm just looking at the party. It was a nice gesture. I know you didn't like it, but Al seems pretty happy to be spending it with his best mate," I tried to change the topic. Dad looked over at my brother and I assumed he bought my lie. We watched as Scorpius, holding my cousin's hand, greeted Cam and Rory as they joined the circle. It was then that the talking from their group became a little more audible.

"What the bloody hell is this?" I could hear my brother ask as he lifted up Cam's left hand. It was then that I noticed something sparkle from it. Oh no, Al was going to go ballistic. Dad looked at me from his part of the bench. We silently agreed that we were going to sit here and watch whatever drama the five of them were concocting.

"It's a ring, _Albus_. For having just graduated, you seem a bit daft not to recognize a ring," Cam chided him, and I laughed. I loved the girl for the way she could talk back to him. I looked at Dad, and he had a big smile on his face. I wasn't sure if it was because Mr. Malfoy was about to get shocking news or because his son was getting bested by a girl. I assumed it was the former (just because Dad is not too keen on Mr. Malfoy). I proved to be right when Mr. Malfoy came to check what all the fuss was. He looked down at Cam's hand after being prompted by Al, and if he could spit fire he would have.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked his daughter and her beau.

Dad leaned over, "That girl is so much more like her mother than the ferret. She believes so much in the best and that everyone is kind that she'll accept a marriage proposal from a bloke in the summer after her fifth year."

"What do you mean?" I asked him. I wasn't sure how the two things were related.

"Well Mrs. Malfoy dated Draco for only a very short time, something like four months, before he asked her to marry him. I knew her from various things, and knew that she was kind. She believed that those who did not commit murder during the war still had something good left in their hearts. Well, she truly believed it of Draco, so she agreed on a whim. Cam has proven to me many times over the years since your brother became friends with Scorpius that she is just like her mother. I've told you I thought that when she stayed with us for Easter holidays that one year. The year she tried so hard not to be a bother and was mothering everyone while she was sick?"

I nodded my head because I remembered. I actually had even told Al last year that Dad had said it.


	9. Unlikely Friends

**Chapter Nine: Unlikely Friends**

Part One: September 5, 2028

As we sat at dinner, you could cut the tension between Al and Cam like a knife. She constantly fiddled with her plate or Micah. Al kept glancing up at her the whole time. It was as if I were watching a very funny play. Any moment one of them was going to explode. My parents and grandparents were either oblivious or ignoring it. I was about to make matters worse. I took Cam's hand in mine and started caressing part of it with my thumb.

As predicted, Al's ears started to turn pink, but what I didn't expect was for my mother to keep looking between our hands and her youngest son's face. She mouthed, 'oh,' and then gave me a stern look. My game was found out, at least by my mother. I'm sure I was going to get an earful tonight. I needed to get that flat of my own soon.

In order to ignore my mother's glares, I went back to watching Al get angry. He was a lovely shade of red all over now. It took all my self control to not laugh outright at my grandparents' dinner table.

When dinner was through, and we had done the cleaning, Cam and I told the rest of my family that we would meet them back at the house. We were going to go get some stuff done. I winked to Al and I'm sure he would have sent an Unforgiveable my way if he could. I didn't need to look at my mother to know that she was going to be speaking to me about this later.

I led Cam to the fireplace, and she maneuvered Micah to a spot on her shoulder while throwing the Floo powder with a shout to the Manor. I did the same. Cam and I had already talked about getting some stuff for Micah and then dropping him off at her godfather's. She needed a full night's sleep because she was beginning to look worn and she couldn't leave Micah with her parents since her mother was still recovering from her illness. She kept telling me it was unnecessary and that she could handle it. I repeated what I told her earlier, that it was not going to help Micah any if she got sick. If she wasn't going to tell Al that he was the father, than she was in this alone and needed to be more responsible. It shut her up, and she continued to pack Micah's things.

Once she was finished, she went to pick up the bags, and I immediately beat her to it.

"James, I can carry them," she said defiantly.

"I know you can, but I want to help," I responded as I took the bags anyway. I watched as she did a side-along apparition to her godfather's, and then I did the same.

I appeared to her left, outside the mansion's gate. She was checking Micah for splinching, but I already knew he wasn't. He would have been screaming in pain if he had been. When her assessment of her son was complete, she used her wand to flip open the gate. Blaise was already at the door when we reached the steps that led up to it.

"Are you sure this is not a problem?" Cam asked for about the seventh time in the last five minutes.

"Of course not! Anything for you, you always were my favourite godchild. Don't tell your brother that though," he said half-joking. It was hard not to adore Cam, unless you were Al and trying to make a career out of it.

I took her hand, "He's going to be fine. You need some rest." Without another word, she followed me back to the front gate. It opened at our arrival, and once outside, I let her apparate on her own to my house. I thought it was better for her to rest at my house for two reasons. One, I knew she would just be worried about her mother if she went home. And if she was worried about her mother, than she would more than likely spend all of her time for rest taking care of her and her father. Two, my door was right across the hall from Al's. It couldn't be any more perfect than that.

When we were inside my house, we went up to my bedroom. Nothing really ever happened, but it always made Al insanely jealous to know we were in here together. Mostly, I did some paperwork and she slept. It was a decent arrangement. As I have said before, I know that unofficially she was Al's, but it was nice to watch her sleep. She slept in this silky thing that went to her knees. The view was astounding.

"So what exactly are we doing?" She asked when she came back from the loo. She usually used the one that was Lily's to avoid running into Al.

"You are going to sleep and I am going to read a file about someone I have to go after soon," I told her, but she gave me a look.

"No, I mean not right now. I mean what is going on between us? We go on dates, but then you don't even try to kiss me," she almost whined the last part. Well that was unexpected. I wanted to kiss her, but I knew that may have been crossing a line when it came to finally setting her together with Al.

"Do you want me to try and kiss you?" I asked, trying to figure out exactly what she felt. There was no doubt in my mind that she was in love with Al, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad to move our relationship to a good snog to make Al jealous.

"Well I like you James. I always have. You're much better than your prat brother," she answered and I thought it was funny how without being prodded she mentioned Al. It was enough evidence for me to make a quick decision about not snogging her. It would be the perfect ammunition to make Al upset, but at the same time he would condemn her if she kissed his brother.

"Well, I think until you have stronger feelings for me, then we should just be the friends we always have been. You've always been a good friend to me, and I'm just trying to return the favor," I told her. It was the truth. I truly enjoyed Cam's company. She was smart, funny, and usually never thought of herself. When I thought about it, keeping Micah a secret was probably the only selfish act I have ever seen her commit.

Cam nodded, "That's good I guess. I wouldn't want to screw up a perfectly good friendship." She smiled, pulled back the covers on my king-size, and crawled underneath them. Her head hit the pillow, and it probably took three seconds before she was asleep.

* * *

_Part Two: June 11, 2022_

My disbelief at Dad's decision to let both Malfoy children come spend three weeks of summer with us was all over my face. I understood when Scorpius would be allowed over for that long because he was Al's best mate, but letting over Cam for longer than a week too, that was new. I had heard Dad talking to Al about how Scorpius couldn't come over unless Cam came with him. Something about how the Malfoys were going to be taking a trip for three weeks, and Scorpius would need to be home with Cam. Dad agreed to let Cam over too. She was the same year as Lily, and the two girls occasionally talked at school. I talked to Cam too. The girl was the second most interesting fourteen-year-old that I knew. Lily was the first because she was so much like my Aunt Luna that she was bordering between odd and wise.

Once they arrived, Scorpius and Al ran off to Al's room to do Merlin knew what, and Cam just stood there looking around. Lily came down from her room then, and told Cam that they could do something.

"Can I join you two?" I asked since it would be hours before Fred would be showing up to do something. Lily nodded and I followed the pair up to my younger sister's room. We had a blast playing Wizard Chess and Snap. Cam was pretty good at Chess. When Fred finally arrived, I was actually sad to leave them. I enjoyed any time I got to spend with Lils and Cam seemed to be just as fun. However, I knew that as I was going to be a seventh year next year that it was not really acceptable to spend time with going-to-be fourth years. I could do it for a little bit at home with my sister, but that was it. I didn't want my friends to think that I was a loser or anything.

Fred and I spent a bunch of time tossing a Quaffle back and forth on brooms in the back yard. This is what we were doing when Lily and Cam came outside to watch. They pulled some chairs from the shed, and were contented to just sit and watch us play.

"Who's the bird with Lils?" Fred asked. I was surprised he didn't recognize her as he was aware of Al's friendship with Scorpius. However, when I thought about it, Fred wouldn't really know anything about Cam as she wasn't normally around Scorpius and Al.

"It's Cam Malfoy, Scorp's younger sister. There was some agreement where she had to come if Scorp was going to come," I explained and Fred nodded.

"Pretty girl, obviously younger than us, but pretty," he said before throwing the Quaffle back to me. I agreed with him. Cam was pretty. She had this caramel brown hair, grey eyes, and when she smiled it was adorable. I couldn't understand why Al hated her so much.

"Wanna play a match?" I heard Al ask. He and Scorpius had appeared at the back door. Fred and I nodded simultaneously. We always enjoyed playing against them. Sometimes we lost and sometimes they lost, but it was always fun because we were evenly matched in skill. All of us had Quidditch in our genes. Al and Scorpius grabbed a couple of brooms from the shed, mounted them, and flew up to where Fred and I were hovering.

Within moments, the match was underway. Cam had already started cheering for Fred and I (probably out of her dislike for Al), so Lils decided to be fair and cheer for Al and Scorp.

After an hour, the score was close at 80 to 70 with Fred and me in the lead. Cam jumped up and down cheering for us. I laughed as her and Lily had grabbed some parchment to make signs. They had made this even more fun. It wasn't long before Fred and I scored two more goals and won. Cam got so excited that she found flowers from around the garden and made a wreath of congratulations for Fred.

"Well thank you," Fred appreciated the gesture. It was the first time we had ever played a yard match and got something for winning. I looked over at Al and could see that he was as red as one of Mum's best tomatoes. I laughed. He wasn't really a sore loser, but he always was slightly upset when it happened. He stared daggers at Cam. I thought that was odd as he told me how much he hated her. Cam came back with a second wreath with even brighter flowers for me, and I watched as Al stomped away from the yard, Scorpius on his tail.

I thought about it for a moment. For all that talk about hating Cam, he sure was jealous of the attention she was giving me. Even when we were up in the air, Al had faltered on a throw to the make-shift goal when he heard her yell for me to block it the first time. It almost made me wonder if Al actually had some feelings for the youngest Malfoy.

I shook my head. That would be ridiculous. How could he go around shouting about how much he hated her if he liked her? It was probably more that somehow her cheering for the other team made it win. Al always made some mental leap like that when it came to Cam's behavior. It was most likely the reason he was so upset.

"Wow, he was mad about something," Fred commented. I nodded. My brother and I were close, but I really didn't understand what happened in his head all the time. I mean he was a Slytherin after all. Both of our parents were Gryffindors, I was a Gryffindor, and yet there he was in Slytherin becoming best friends with the one person dad would have preferred he did not.

I heard Mum tell Dad that Al was so much like him, once. Dad had shot her the biggest look of disbelief. So then of course she explained herself. She talked about how yes there was the big difference of Slytherin and Gryffindor, but it wasn't really a difference when you thought about it. Dad wanted so badly to be a Gryffindor to escape being a Slytherin, and Al wanted so badly to be a Slytherin (not that he had ever admitted this to anyone but her) to escape the pressure of being a Gryffindor and living up to his dad. Everyone always talked about how Al matched Dad in looks right down to my Grandmother Lily's eyes with the glasses. Apparently, there was more than just looks shared between the two. After Mum had explained all of the similarities between Dad and Al, even Dad was convinced. How could he not be after comparing Dad's friendship with Uncle Ron to Al's with Scorpius? They both had chosen the person who they met on the train and stuck with that person no matter what.


	10. Things Get Complicated

**Chapter Ten: Things Get Complicated**

Part One: September 6, 2028

I woke up like I always did when I stayed in James' bed. His back was to my back and I cuddled one of the many pillows in front of me. I looked up at the clock. It was too early to go pick Micah up from my godfather's house and I wasn't quite ready to leave. James had been nice to me, but so had his family with the exception of Albus. I liked being around them just to remember what it was like in my family before I found out my mother was sick.

Thinking about my mother always made me upset. I quietly climbed out of the bed even though I had learned that James slept like a bloody rock. I still didn't want to ruin his hospitality. Normally I would go up to Lily's bathroom to avoid Albus, but because it was so early, I just went to the boys' shared loo.

Inside I let myself cry for a moment. I really had been scared when my mother had been in the hospital, but I didn't let that show. My family needed me. When the crying jag was over, I bent over the sink and splashed a bit of cold water on my face. It was then that the door opened and I stood in a barely there nightdress in front of Albus.

"Is that what you wear to bed with my brother?" He asked angrily as he stared at the blue silk. The back had straps that crisscrossed and the hemline that normally reached my knees was at my thighs because of how I was over the sink.

I looked at him like it was really none of his business, but answered, "Yes." I tried to understand what he was thinking by staring at those green eyes that he shared with his father. They seemed to ice over almost instantly after hearing my answer.

"Why?" His voice came out really rough. I'm not sure what he was trying to accomplish, but he seemed extremely upset about something.

"Because this is what I sleep in _Albus_," I said to him before taking the hand towel and drying my face. I was glad to know that it didn't look like I was crying, but that was the last thought I got to before suddenly the youngest Potter son whipped me to face him and moved his lips against mine. What was going on here? Albus was kissing me like he wanted nothing more desperately in this world.

I would have continued my thoughts, but he was an excellent kisser. Being a foot shorter than him he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He moved his kisses down my jaw and to my neck. I whimpered in delight. I should really be thinking about this step I was taking with him, but I could only focus on his impatient kissing and touching.

His mouth reached my collarbone and one of his hands slid up the back of my pajamas. "Albus," I said meaning to make him stop, but he took it as encouragement. As he kissed back up my neck, I snaked my hands up his shirt and was pleasantly surprised to feel taut abs. They were almost distracting enough to forget what I had put my hands up here to do in the first place. I lightly pushed him back. He looked up at me and I spoke to him before his usual cutting words started. "Don't. Don't get angry. I'm not stopping you because I don't want it. I just need to understand. You hate me," I said to him as he sat me down on the counter space next to the sink.

"I know," he started to say, his breath ragged, "Except, I don't think I actually hate you. I've been in agony watching you with James. I didn't even realize it until last night. He winked at me as you two were leaving and knew that he was going to touch you. I hated that thought. I hated it." I stared at him bewildered. His green eyes that had iced over previously were now a deep green. He wasn't lying. Albus wanted to touch me. But, did I want to touch him? My hands were still spread across his chest. Yes, I did.

I thought about Iris' words and said to him with a slight grin, "We're a little late, aren't we?" He smirked back the way only a Slytherin could and I realized we were bound to get to this spot from the beginning. His arms lifted me up, opened up the loo door, and we ran smack into James.

The older Potter smiled wide, "Oh don't mind me. Carry on what you're doing." I looked up at him questioningly. "Hey, I worked hard for you two to get here. Keep going. I'll make sure Mum and Dad aren't aware."

Albus nodded at his brother and continued to carry me into his bedroom, but not before James commented, "Cam, I'll be talking to you later." I knew he'd want me to rush and tell Albus about Micah now that it appeared we were…together.

Once inside his bedroom, Albus set me down on his bed. It was a king-size like James' was, but it was decorated in black and silver. "This is a vastly different room from James' reds, whites, and golds," I said to him. He was fiddling at the edge of the bed watching me.

"Don't talk about him," he said as he climbed above me, "I'm still trying to get over the fact that you slept in his bed in that." There was a gesture to my nightdress before he ran a hand over the fabric. There were literal chills across my skin as he did it. I wondered if this is what it felt like when we conceived Micah. If it was, then I have no idea why I hadn't been sleeping with him all along. Oh wait I did, we hated each other until about five minutes ago. Well, we could still hate each other… who knew? Then his hands cupped my curves over the silk and I arched up to him. This was a nice hate if we did still hate each other.

Albus had stopped touching me to look down at me, "What are you thinking Princess? You have a look on your face that tells me something is on your mind." Normally, I hated when he called me that name, but the way he purred it now it made me want him.

I pulled his face down to mine and ignored his question by meeting our mouths again. My hands went up his shirt again as I tasted him. Were these abs always here? I grazed my nails down them and he groaned wantonly. His voice was like the last push I needed to dive into what we were doing. I pulled his shirt over his head and went for it.

He took my de-clothing as permission and reached out and energetically pulled my nightie over my head. His eyes widened and grinned at me. He lowered his lips and caressed my neck with them. He sighed into my ear as our bare skin touched. He easily positioned himself on me waiting to make sure I wanted him as much as he wanted me in this moment. His hand slid along the skin he had bared, across my stomach, catching his thumb in the elastic of my pants.

I pulled him down to me by his neck. And, both of us removed the rest of our clothing. When we were both naked, he got on top of me again and slid his tongue into my mouth. I hastily wrapped my legs around him and he slowly slid inside me. My fingers twisted in his hair. I bit my lip and almost cried out as he thrust into me again. After a few rapid uncomfortable movements, we were both rocking in a steady motion.

He was enthusiastically nibbling my neck and breasts, occasionally commenting now and then about how I felt around him. I grinned in delight against his forehead as he moaned against my chest. His rocking movements were becoming faster and more urgent and when I moaned in pure bliss, he was fulfilled. He kissed me through his own moment with a shudder.

I looked over at him and almost had a panic attack. "Albus, I… I wasn't protected," I said to him in a small voice. I can't believe I've done this with him twice without thinking!

"I took care of it while you were commenting on the different decors in the two Potter bedrooms you have been in," he told me softly as he pulled me naked against him. I let go of the breath I was holding. How daft would I have been to make the same mistake with the same man twice?

* * *

_Part Two: July 10, 2027_

I have been so sick for the last three days. There has been nothing but bathroom trips for me. My father was so worried for me at the office that he sent me to our private Healer.

"So what's the matter today Ms. Malfoy?" Healer Pucey asked me.

I held my queasy body and answered, "I've just been very ill. I think my stomach is rebelling." I watched as he nodded and went to doing charms with his wand. He kept quiet as he did all this and I sat there waiting for some information.

"Well so far, you seem healthy. Everything is in order. Has anything changed in your routine lately? Eat anything different?"

"No, not at all," I answered him and just couldn't understand what was wrong with me.

The Healer looked at me sternly then, and asked, "Cam, could you be pregnant?"

I started to shake my head because I really thought I hadn't been physical for a year, but then I remember Scorp's birthday. Oh Merlin! "Um, actually, I think could be…" I said with a bit of tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes. Was I pregnant with the most-hated person in my life's child?

"Well, let me check and we'll take it from there," he said with a reassuring pat on my shoulder. I nodded. I knew he was trying to be calm for my sake. Healer Adrian Pucey had been at Hogwarts with my dad in Slytherin, and they were still good enough friends now for him to be who my dad trusted with the health of his family. He did more wand work and tried to look comforting for my sake, but I knew what he was going to say before it was even said. "It was positive."

I left the Healer in a haze. He gave me a potion to take daily for essential nutrients, but all I could think about was what I was going to do with a baby? Albus couldn't know. We would just have a row that would end all rows. He would probably curse me with an unrelenting bat bogey hex taught to him by his powerful mother.

"You look like you're in your N.E.W.T. exams all over again," Scorpius commented from down the corridor as I approached my room door. I couldn't help it when I just broke down in tears in front of him. "Hey, hey, what's the matter?" My brother asked as he came closer with his arms open. I shook my head as sobs racked my body. I couldn't even bring myself to tell him the news.

Scorp and I had always been close because Mum and Dad raised us that way. I could feel it as he tried to shush me and ask what was troubling me so bloody much. When I had finally calmed down enough, I just looked up at him with the gray eyes that he also had.

"I'm pregnant."


	11. Secret's Out

**Chapter Eleven: Secret's Out**

Part One: September 6, 2028

My eyes reluctantly fluttered open when there was a knock at the door. Where was I? There was an arm around my waist, then someone was kissing my neck. I took in the black and silver décor and this morning's memories registered. I had crossed the line with Albus again.

The knocking became slightly more persistent. "Oh, bloody hell," I heard Albus mutter as he got up from the bed.

"It's noon. Blaise will be expecting Cam to pick up Micah," James advised as he smirked at his brother, "Oh, and you're welcome. Now keep her this time." With his piece said, James handed my satchel over to Al. He turned back into the corridor toward his own room. He was right. I had to go pick up my son. I stood, took the bag from Albus, and started to take my clothing out of it. I avoided Albus' eyes.

He came up behind me, "Do you want to talk about this? It is bloody important." He turned me around and held my chin. "Cam, this wasn't like before," he assured me. Al's lips came to my forehead. It was an odd feeling. Twenty-four hours ago, we hated each other-well we thought we did anyway.

"I know. I just have to go get Micah," I told him. He nodded.

"I'll go with you."

"Al…" I started hesitantly, "you don't have to do that." This was new to us. We were treading into territory we had never been previously. He didn't have to jump in head-first. He stared at me in awe for a moment. I guessed that was in awe of using his nickname.

"James went through a lot of trouble to make me realize that I fancied you. If I let you out of my sight, then I'll be getting a bat-bogey hex," he said with a grin. I smiled. It was bullocks, but the fact that he even said it made me hopeful.

I nodded, "Alright." It didn't take either of us long to get dressed. Once we were both properly clothed, I followed him to the house's fireplace. We used Floo powder and appeared in Uncle Blaise's foyer. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"New development," I said simply.

He nodded, "In that case, why don't the both of you join us for lunch? Iris will be joining us." At the mention of my best mate, I nodded my head.

"You don't have to stay," I said to Albus.

He shook his head, "I told you. James would hex me."

At that moment, my aunt came in carrying Micah. I met her in the middle of the room and held my arms out for him. He looked at me with big Malfoy eyes and smiled. It melted my heart to see such a thing.

"He seemed to have missed you," Albus said as he came up behind me to smile at his son.

Uncle Blaise gave us a thumbs up sign and said, "I'm so glad that you two have worked yourselves out. It would have been awful for Micah to continue to grow up without a father." My jaw dropped. I didn't realize that he would have taken our being here together as a sign that I told Albus about Micah's parentage.

"What?" Albus said as he looked between Micah and myself. He stared, and I could see the mechanics working in his head. "Wait, he's my son?"

Uncle Blaise looked a bit disturbed, "Um, we'll leave you two alone."

"Thanks," I muttered with a bit of sarcasm. This was not how I wanted him to find out about our son. "You remember Scorp's birthday party?"

Al nodded with a bloody angry look in his eye.

"We made him that night," I answered anti-climatically. What else could I say?

His voice suddenly became low and harsh, "I knew he looked familiar. If it weren't for those bloody grey eyes, then I would have known it right away. Why didn't you tell me?! You ran off to bloody France and had our son! I can't believe you, and I can't believe I thought we would work. You're still Princess Malfoy. You believe everything needs to work your way."

"Stop it! You know why I didn't tell you? Because we hated each other up until twenty-four hours ago. I thought that you would… I didn't know that you wouldn't be worse to me. You've always been horrible and I just didn't want a baby in the middle of all of that!" I yelled back at him. There was no way he couldn't sit there and say that I didn't have reason.

"Bullocks! You had no right to keep that to yourself. He's mine, too. I should have had a say in everything," he finished before turning around and Flooing back out of the house. He probably returned home to tell the Potters how awful I was. Uncle Blaise used that moment to come back into the room.

"Your brother is on his way. I don't know why you thought this was going to end any differently," he chided me. I knew he was right, but that didn't make it any less awful. To top everything off, Micah started to wail. His little emotions stressed because mine were.

It was another fifteen minutes before Scorp joined me on a bench in the foyer. I had finally gotten Micah to sleep.

"I take it Al wasn't very happy," he said to me as he looked at his nephew.

I shook my head. No use answering something he already knew. There were soft tears falling from my eyes. I could have avoided this, but at the same time… Albus and I had never been okay until recently.

"He's in love with you, you know? The two of you are so bloody dimwitted. You're going to have to give him time now. You lied to him about his son. That's incredibly important," he chastised me. I nodded. I knew all of it. I just was selfish. James had been right about that. Hiding the information from Al was for me, not for Micah.

* * *

_Part Two: February 8, 2028_

I woke to an extremely painful cramp in my abdomen. I glanced over at the clock on my bedroom wall. It was six fifteen in the morning. Another cramp came about fifteen minutes later. "Ouch," I muttered to my round belly. The son that had been forming in there getting ready to make his entrance into the world.

"Odette! I think we need to go! The baby is coming!" I screamed down the hall to my cousin. I took a deep breath as another pain shot through me. I hoped that I was ready for this. In some hours, I would become a mother, and not just a mother, but a single mother. Even though my brother kept insisting in his visits that I tell Albus about the baby, I couldn't do it. We hated each other and bringing a baby to him would be wrong.

Odette finally joined me in the hallway. She had forgotten trousers. "Odette, look down," I said as calmly as I could muster in the sudden pain I was having. She did, smiled apologetically and quickly went to finish dressing.

I ventured toward the sitting room we planned as our Floo route to Chateau del médecine. My trunk with hospital things was already set up against the wall. I grabbed it and waited for Odette to join me. She finally did after another ten minutes. Odette nodded, gestured to the Floo powder, and waited for me to go. I shouted my destination and was magically whisked away to the hospital. I entered the maternity registration center. One of the junior Healers approached me.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a cheery voice.

"I think I'm having my baby," I answered her. She nodded, took my information, and led me to a room. I was a Malfoy, I had a very large and private room.

"I'll contact your Healer," she informed before leaving me to dress in the hospital outfit. My cousin joined me once I was in it.

Odette looked me over, "Do you want me to get you something? Your parents and brother are on their way. I Flooed them before coming over." I shook my head to the offer and smiled at the mention of my family. I definitely wanted them here when the little one arrived.

Many hours later, I sat there staring at my mother. I could hear the baby crying over in his own little section while they cleaned him.

"You did a good job," she whispered as she gave me a kiss on the forehead. I wished she hadn't. I was covered in a small layer of sweat.

After the small bundle had been handed to me, I swallowed back sobs of joy. My night with Albus might have been a huge mistake, but this little chubby face peaking up at me melted my insides. "You're beautiful," I said to him. He curled into my chest and I couldn't have asked for more.

"So what is my grandson's name?" My father asked with a raised eyebrow. I know he was waiting for some weird astrological name, but that wasn't what I wanted. I was a Malfoy and I know that my grandparents would be disappointed, but he was my baby.

"Micah," I whispered. The name had been in a story I had read once. I instantly fell in love with it and decided that would be my son's name.

My dad shook his head. He really hoped that I would change my mind and use something like Corpus or some other awful name.

"Sorry Daddy, but I just don't like those names," I apologized. Even Uncle Blaise thought they were ridiculous. He had thought so much so that he started calling me a nickname.

My father nodded with a small half-smile, "It's okay honey. As long as you both are okay, you could name him Potter for all I bloody well care." He was serious, but I knew better. Especially, since, eventually his last name would be Potter. Well, if Scorpius had his way, then I'd have to tell Albus at some point.


End file.
